Theo lifted her cup from the table and took a generous sip as he explained his apparent wealth without actually explaining anything at all. That was fine. It was really none of her business, anyhow.

“I see. Well, it must be nice to have that kind of space at your disposal in a city like this.” Leaning back in her chair, she began rhythmically tapping a fingernail against the ceramic mug in her hands, distracted by hungry, intrusive thoughts.

Just how long might a man of his size last in her freezer? Diced up and packaged correctly, possibly vacuum sealed, he could keep for quite a while..

Blinking herself out of her momentary lapse, she offered a sweet smile. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to derail your day with my comment. Did you have somewhere you needed to be?”

Theo leaned an elbow on the table and cradled her chin in the palm of her hand as the waiter arrived to clear the table of the food left behind from the previous customer. Desperately trying to conceal a smile at the stranger’s obvious embarrassment, she ducked her head down slightly. The waiter left, and she offered a somewhat apologetic expression.

“Sorry. I would’ve warned you that it wasn’t mine, but you nabbed it pretty quick.”

Nodding along with his statement, she raised a brow. “A penthouse in Los Angeles? Wow.” She gave a short laugh. “What are you, an astronaut? I could barely afford a hotel around here.”

Theo took a sip of her coffee, eyes following the man as he decided to take a seat at her table. Perhaps he wasn’t that offended.

“You look like you could eat a couple of paparazzi.” A teasing smile appeared on her face. She made no move to stop him from taking the cold toast from in front of her – she decided not to tell him that it had been there when she sat down ten minutes ago. No point in poking the bear just yet.

“I’m on vacation.” She answered simply, setting her coffee cup down on the table in front of her. “What about you, do you live here?”

At the witty retort, Theo leaned back in her chair with an amused chuckle. She got the feeling he didn’t quite appreciate being compared to a bear. Even if he did resemble one in size, if nothing else.

“You’re right, I probably should have recognized your celebrity status. To be fair, I’ve only been in California for a few days. How do you keep the paparazzi from getting in your face all the time?”

People watching was a fantastic way to pass the time when you found yourself in a new city. It gave you a lot of insight about the type of place you were inhabiting. A small, shaded table in front of a tiny coffee shop offered Theo a good view of the pedestrians that wandered by on the bustling sidewalk.

Taking a measured sip of her dark brew, amber eyes fixed upon a man that passed nearby. Woah.

“I wonder, has anyone mentioned that you could’ve been a grizzly bear in a past life?” The sweet Southern tones called out just loud enough to ensure he realized she was, in fact, speaking to him.

For a split second, she felt a twinge of sadness for the man. Yes, this place was friendly...until the shiny wore off and you got spit out like the husk of a sunflower seed. She’d keep that incredibly pessimistic nugget to herself. For now, at least. She laughed and nodded slowly. “It certainly can be, that is for sure. New things are curious and strange. A puzzle to figure out. It’s in most people’s nature to want to solve a puzzle.” Furrowing her brows, she looked at him, a bit aghast. “Hand to god, I’m not even stoned right now.” She let out a bark of a laugh. “I’m sure you’ll be getting on just fine. In the event that you need something, give me a shout.” She pulled out a card from her back pocket. It was cut into a circle, rather than the ordinary rectangle shape of business cards. Handing the glossy black piece of cardstock to him, she gave a bright smile. “I hope jetlag isn’t too bad! It’s easily the second worst part about flying.”

Head still turned from greeting one of the other new faces, she nearly plowed right into this one. Looking up, face turning a tomato red, she sputtered out an apology as she regained her bearings. “Holy sh...I’m sorry! I clearly need to watch where I’m going!” She laughed, eyes focusing on who she’d just nearly barreled over. Her cheeks tinted further, smile faltering as her eyes widened. “Oh. Oh, hello.” Damn. It was like it was raining hot men all of a sudden. Summer glanced skyward, sending a silent prayer to the entire pantheon of gods- ‘make it rain!’. Glancing back at the strange man, she took a step back and chuckled sheepishly, fluffing her hair and trying to act natural (read: looking awkward af).